A Conversation
by The Terrifying Fairies
Summary: Mad Mogg- What could have have been said if one small conversation had taken place? No pairings. K Unit involved, takes place in Stormbreaker at the SAS camp, is AU from that point.


**Disclaimer**- I do not own any of this it all belongs to Antony Horowitz. The first line is from Stormbreaker.

**Please Note: **The ficlet fits into stormbreaker, at the SAS camp just after he has climbed the wall and spoken to Snake. The line that this starts from is in italic at the top.

**A/N:** Thanks, awfully to my brilliant Beta mml94 who returned this in less than 24 hours.

I dedicate this ficlet two three people- mml94 for being a brilliant Beta, and Jusmine and JK Mafia for giving me ideas (whether intentionally or not) for this ficlet as it would only be half it size without them.

**And on with my first instalment of The Bedtime Stories:**

"_These might help" Alex said._

He threw the matches down and turned to enter his tent. Behind him Wolf frowned. For most it would have seemed to be a death glare, but for him it was just a frown. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Hey, double-o-nothing where did you get the matches from?" Wolf's  
Spanish accent clear as he spoke. Alex did not reply. In fact, he did not  
even acknowledge that he had heard the question.

"Hey kid, I'm talking to you!"

"My name" the K units' eyes widened "is Cub not kid"

Wolf growled "Kid is the term for a child"

Alex smirked "No kid is the term for _hoedus_."

"Huh" Wolf grunted "A what?"

"An infant goat" Alex told him in a voice that said 'duh' whilst fighting the need to roll his eyes at this man's stupidity. He knew it was idiotic, but it might have been his age that made him want to show this man up.

Not a good idea, but still.

Eagle looked lost and Snake sniggered before saying "Cub, we don't speak Latin"  
"I've never guessed" Alex thought but instead he said "Well neither do I but even I know 

that _hoedus_ means an infant goat, that's just common knowledge", Alex sneered with no real feeling behind it, "and, I'm only a stupid little school 'kid'", he emphasized the word kid, miming quotation marks with his hands, "Aren't I Wolf?". After all, Wolf liked to make a point of telling Alex this so why not mention it? Alex was starting to think that lack of sleep was getting to him as he was now being rude to SAS, trainees or otherwise.

"And school is where I belong, not out in the middle of who knows where; at a training facility or so I have been told, honestly, you'd think they might have asked first. But then again that Blunt guy seems to expect me to agree with him. Well, telling me that Ian was actually a spy, and that he died trying to bring information back... Really why not get that Felix boy to do it for them, what an odd name? And just because my father and Ian were good at spying doesn't mean that I will be... Jumping through a window or escaping though a nearly crushed car, how does that make me brave? And then tell me they want ME to finish the job. What kind of retard would agree to that? Then", Alex was well into his rant by now, "they blackmail me", Alex huffed, scowling. Okay so lack of sleep was definitely getting to him. Straight to bed for him, perhaps those rations first. Or should he save them and have a double breakfast? Then again, Wolf would probably eat his. Although Wolf had army discipline, he doubted that any form of discipline included pushing your own team mate into a trap.

Alex's train of thought was interrupted by...

..."Blackmail, Cub" Alex jumped at the sound of the sergeant's voice. "So you weren't joking when you said you never wanted to be here?" his voice was almost soft, softer than it had been down on the ground level. He almost sounded like a normal person, the key word Alex thought was 'almost'. Alex raised his eyebrows "Why would I joke? It's a waste of time and life's too short to be wasted. Now I wonder if the MI6 are going to kill me for telling you this. They were saying something along the lines of 'never too young die'." Honestly what did these people take him for? An idiot perhaps? Then again his behaviour here was scarily out of character. It was almost frightening him. He had never acted like this before. A small voice at the back of his head pointed out that he had never been to any kind of camp before, not even boy scouts. He never went to any kind of Cadets, though that boy David in form Q did; he often boasted about his stripes. Alex also noticed how he kept getting distracted. It was rather unlike him.

"Cub" Alex was jolted back to reality and had to swallow a "huh". Eagle, who seemed to be revealing his not so brilliant talent at missing the major point, whilst picking something smaller, but not always useless "Who's Ian?" strangely, he sounded almost cheerful.

Alex was starting to realise that SAS meant lots of almost. He was normally smart and cautious with what he said. And Alex was ready to bet Eagle was hyper active when he was 

on leave. How else would he sound even remotely cheerful now? As for Sergeant being kind and loving, well it wasn't impossible...

"My uncle" Alex answered shortly. He really did not want to get into a discussion about Ian, never Uncle Ian, just Ian or Ian Rider. Why Ian had not wanted to be called Uncle Ian he did not know. Though he would be lying to say he was occasionally not curious about why. Not that he'd ever find out now.  
Some years ago he had come to the conclusion that Ian thought it was too sappy. Ian, it had turned out, actually had two pictures. One of him and the other one of him and Ian on holiday. On his desk in what had once been his office! This had surprised Alex as he had never thought Ian had been sentimental.

He had never thought Ian was a spy either, but that was irrelevant he told himself. Ian had been a master spy and lying had been his job. Alex hated lying, Alex hated spying but what was to be done about it? If he wanted to keep his friends, which he might (and probably would) lose anyway now. But most importantly he could not lose Jack, the thought al... nearly (he could not use almost as that was now an SAS related word) made his eyes water. He forced them down otherwise the men might think he was upset about Ian's death. Oh wait. He was upset.

"How long ago did he die?" A quiet almost nonexistent voice asked. This was the first time Fox had spoken to Alex and he had not really listened to his accent before as the speech was never directed at him. Alex was now certain that Fox was from Liverpool as he had a Liverpudlien accent, that weird strange accent. Great, now he was being a hypocrite. At school he had often been laughed at for not sounding the same as the others. He had briefly had French and German accents but his Spanish one had taken nearly six months to shake off. Then there was the fact he was well spoken, apparently he sounded posh, and some of the impressions that had been made of him when he was younger had made him cry. To Jack. He had only ever cried to Ian once. After that he had thought never again and kept to it. It would probably have the same dealing of kindness as running to Wolf. Then again he had never trusted Wolf and Ian wouldn't tease his the same way as Wolf. He'd make harsh comments, but not tease. Yet the harsh comments from Ian hurt more than teasing had ever hurt Alex.

Alex had never taken the same approach with Ian again; they had still gotten on though. Ian had still been his only relative; he had never told anyone about it, it being the disagreement, argument, maybe? For now neither of those words seem to fit it so it, was just that; it. Jack had yet to come. It had been just a few days before she did come. In hindsight he realised that she would have come anyway, but at the time he had thought it was a punishment for  
misbehaving. It was no wonder he had regarded Jack so coldly. Not that Jack had known, but 

seven year old Alex had not cared.

"Three or four weeks ago" he said equally quietly shrugging. But he could not help the sad look that reached his eyes, not tears just a sad, empty look almost as though he had lost something irreplaceable. Scrap that; he had lost something irreplaceable. He had lost Ian, his last family member. He had lost his life. Now, as a spy, even if he lived he would have to lie. He had met people he shouldn't have. He was yet to see things he shouldn't, things  
those lucky enough would never have to see, ever.

Now Alex wasn't one to whinge or sulk he simply told the truth, plain and simple, where he could. The only time he ever lied was when Ian asked him if he was alright, and Alex would reply "I'm fine thank you", like any well mannered child, or person for that matter, would. So it didn't really count as lying did it? After all it was just pleasantries. But one day the truth might not be an option. One day the truth would not be an option. And Alex knew it. He might not greet it with open arms but he also knew somewhere deep down one day his life would be full of lies. Well, it already was. But soon he would be the one telling the lies.

"That's not very long" other than the sergeant who had opted to remain silent Wolf was the first to recover. "What about your parents? What did they say?"

Alex smiled slightly as he met Wolf's eyes. "They're dead". They might have thought him mad but he could not remember his parents. They might have disagreed, hell, he hoped they would've. But his smile waned a little as he wondered if they would have agreed. He had been told he was just like his father. He had been told he was just like Ian. So just how alike were John and Ian Rider? Would Ian have agreed with this? Would his father have agreed with this? If his father had chosen this for him would his mother have objected? Would he speak all the languages he did now, would he have the same knowledge? Or go to the same school? Would he have the same friends? Or would he have brothers? Or sisters? For some reason in his fourteen years of life this was the first time he had sat down and thought about it. Figuratively speaking that is, as he was actually standing.

Eagle was completely gobsmacked. Fox had returned to his silent stance. Snake seemed to think he had gone around the twist. Wolf was watching him with some odd expression upon his face, one Alex did not recognize, and the sergeant seemed to be studying his face carefully, as a critic might at a work of art. Alex made a mental note to find out what that expression meant as you never know, it might save your life one day. Damn. Save his life? He was already thinking like a spy? Alex had no intension of being a spy after this one assignment. After that he would return to a normal life. Normal? Return? Who  
was he trying to kid? He was and would never be normal. Never say never. Alex almost smiled; it was a try, this being normal. Wasn't it?

"Mrs Jones says you're not to parachute tomorrow, something about it being dangerous." The sergeant seemed at loss for anything else to say. Alex sighed, and then muttered "God forbid what would happen if I broke an arm!" under his breath although perhaps a little louder than he intended for the sergeant's lips twitched at the very corners. Eagle openly snickered. Fox glanced at them as though they were mental. Snake appeared puzzled, but Wolf just stared at the sergeant, his soldier air back in full blast. Wolf's chest out, stomach in, his hands like thumbs us but with the thumb down resting on his index finger, and his feet in a V shape. He was standing to attention.  
"And why Cub, might that be?" The sergeant asked Alex although you could tell his real question was "What does this have to do with the blackmail?"

Alex opened his mouth to tell them, but realising he had already said way too much he shut it again, knowing that he should not really tell them why he was here.

"Cub" the sergeant's voice was warning now.

"Sir" Alex replied.

"Cub, if you don't tell me now..." The sergeant was glaring at him menacingly. Alex frowned. Again. If Ian were there he might have told him that his face would get stuck like that. "I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you that." Ian would have been proud Alex thought. Wouldn't he? Or would he have wanted him to tell? Well, he had lied to Alex, his own nephew for so long that Alex decided that he had said the right thing.

The sergeant, for a minute, looked like he might have said "stuff that", but then he said, almost reluctantly "Fine grab your rations"

Alex strode over, grabbed his rations and ducked into his tent. There was a silence. Alex broke it by calling out "Night sergeant. Night Sergeant. Good night Wolf, good night Snake, good night Eagle" He paused before adding "and Fox".

**A/N: **If you disliked or hated this ficlet, please still read the other ones we post, as you may (and probably will) like the works of JK Mafia and Jusmine.

Hoedus- Baby Goat in Latin as far as I know, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks,

Mogg _sighs. _

Okay so I'm really Mad Mogg but I'll have to get over it._**  
**_


End file.
